


Burning for You, With You

by raidelle



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha Gladiolus Amicitia, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Gladio is an Oblivious Idiot, Gladnis, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multiple Orgasms, Not Beta Read, Omega Ignis Scientia, Pining But They Don't Know It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:28:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24508453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raidelle/pseuds/raidelle
Summary: A rare disease forces Insomnia to declare a lockdown. Being quarantined together seems to be going well for Gladio and Ignis, until Ignis runs out of heat suppressants.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 31
Kudos: 151





	Burning for You, With You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [luna_libertatis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/luna_libertatis/gifts).



> This is my first A/B/O-verse fic so please be kind if you spot inconsistencies.
> 
> Also, this entire thing is inspired by [this Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/luna_libertatis/status/1265905207457705988) with luna_libertatis so this is a gift for them.

Gladio sits quietly on the sofa, gritting his teeth as he forces his brain to focus on his book, even as Ignis’s pained, barely muffled whimpers float through the closed door of his room. The scent of distress and arousal hung heavy in the air and Gladio tries to hold his breath for as long as possible. Gods, being an Alpha has never been so difficult.

Looking back, Gladio thinks he should've braced himself for trouble. _Nothing_ , not even Ignis’s best laid plans, ever went completely without a hitch. He should’ve been suspicious from the get go, when they’ve encountered nothing but smooth seas, fair weather, and pleasant Altissians throughout their diplomatic trip. Even their trip back to Lucis had been deceptively serene.

Maybe Bahamut had been lulling them into a sense of false complacency. Maybe they didn’t consider all the possible life-changing repercussions of this strange new disease that’s spreading throughout the Crown City. Maybe they were just shit out of luck.

Ignis lets out another quiet whine. Gladio closes his eyes as he prays for patience and self-control.  


* * *

* * *

  


_TEN DAYS AGO_

  
“Gods, I’m glad that’s over,” Noctis said as he, Ignis, and Gladio entered his downtown apartment. He immediately flopped himself down on the sofa and burrowed his face on one of the throw pillows. “Can we not do state visits for, like, the next ten years?”

“Tell me about it,” Gladio agreed. He practically melted onto the floor in front of the sofa, leaning his head rather heavily onto the cushions as he closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. “I didn’t expect schmoozing foreign government leaders to take _that_ much energy.”

Ignis tutted, already bustling around in the kitchen. “I do hope you have enough energy left for an early dinner.”

“Aww, Iggy. You must be tired from the drive home. Why don’t we just order some takeout for tonight?”

“I’m quite fine, Gladio. I can definitely—”

“Please?” With the single word came a rush of a warm, earthy scent of campfire, moss, and sandalwood.

Ignis frowned. “You’re not playing fair.”

“Did it work?” Gladio grinned. He still looked a little weary, but good-natured amusement twinkled in his eyes.

“Hmm,” was all Ignis said as he took out his phone. “Galahdian all right?”

“Yes!” Noctis cheered, though his voice was muffled by the pillow.

Ignis shook his head at the prince’s antics. “Yes, good afternoon. I’d like to— oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that you were closed today.”

“Oh nooooo…” Noctis complained. “I really wanted some spiced bulette skewers!”

“I see. Well, thank you for letting me know. Goodbye.” Ignis ended the call with an odd look in his eyes.

“Guess Galahdian’s out of the menu,” Gladio shrugged. “What about Tenebraean?”

“I don’t think we can order _any_ takeout tonight,” Ignis said. He picked up the remote from the coffee table, turned on the TV, and changed the channel to LNN.

The news anchor was in the middle of a breaking report. “... just this afternoon, the Health Ministry has released a bulletin containing all the information that is currently known about the as-yet unnamed new virus. Councilman Salus, however, has confirmed that the resulting disease seems to have a more severe effect on Omegas. Meanwhile, the Department of Public Safety has ordered all businesses to be temporarily shut down as guidelines are drawn to…”

“What the hell?” Noctis finally lifted his head. “We were gone for three days!”

Just then, Gladio’s phone rang with the tone he’d assigned to only two people: his father and the Marshal. “Oh boy.”  


* * *

  


_SIX DAYS AGO_

  
A day after the initial announcement, the Lucian High Council had activated its existing pandemic protocol. It soon proved to be woefully inadequate. With so little to go on, aside from the fact that the disease spread alarmingly quickly and that Omegas were strangely susceptible, Insomnia had no choice but to shut borders and close down non-essential businesses.

Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis were ordered to stay put until further notice. The Citadel was a sprawling structure, but they couldn’t risk infecting King Regis. The prince had readily agreed to the directive, but insisted that Prompto be brought in as well; both Clarus and Cor had readily agreed to pacify the Prince. After a series of lab tests and under heavy guard, Prompto had arrived and settled in Noctis’s room a day ago.

Gladio and Ignis had a shared suite in the same building, which had been secured for them mostly for convenience. It proved to be valuable now, because it made security virtually a non-issue. It also made video conferencing a little easier for Ignis and Noctis, whenever their attendance was required in council meetings. 

For the most part, things had been going well. They’d developed their own system to keep themselves safe and sane. Gladio, being an Alpha, would be their assigned supply runner; he went out on the third day to procure two weeks’ worth of their needs. (Noctis was an Alpha, too, but sending him out on errands was out of the question.) Prompto, a Beta, would be their courier, should anything be needed by or from the Citadel.

Everything would be fine for the four of them. Or so Gladio believed.

Three days into the quarantine, Gladio detected a faint whiff of distress in the air.

“Shit.”

That should have clued Gladio in on the impending storm. Ignis only ever cursed as a last resort.

“Iggy? What's wrong?”

Ignis came out of the bathroom, clutching a pill bottle to his chest. “I um… I ran out of suppressants.”

“Oh. Well, I can go out and get some for you. Where’s your prescription?”

“You can try but… I’ve called every pharmacy within the city limits. They appear to have run out of the only variety that works effectively for me.”

“Every single one?” Gladio was incredulous.

“Impossible as it may seem, but yes. The soonest delivery schedule is supposed to be in five days, but there may be some delays due to border restrictions.”

A beat of silence and then… “Shit.”  


* * *

  


_FIVE DAYS AGO_

  
Yesterday, Ignis spent all of thirty minutes blaming himself. He never lost count of days. He never missed a single detail. Why now? How could he have been so careless? Then he was back to planning mode, making sure that everything was straightened out. He can’t very well slip up again.

Today, he made a decision. “Gladio, I think it’s better for me to… well, leave.”

Gladio felt his hackles rise. “What are you talking about?”

“I can go to Prompto’s for the duration of my—”

Gladio growled. “Are you being serious right now?”

“Well, yes. You have to stay here for Noct’s security and—”

“Iggy.” Gladio closed his eyes and took a deep breath, which he probably shouldn’t have done because Ignis’s scent was suddenly _all over him_. “Haven’t you been paying attention? Omegas have a high risk of being infected.”

“I know but—”

“You don’t even know if Prompto’s house is safe enough.”

“I can clean it up when I arrive and—”

“No.”

“Gladio, please. It’s… the best option we have.”

“Do you even know what to do?”

“I—”

“You haven’t had a true heat before, right?”

“I can manage. I WILL manage.”

“No. No, you won’t. You’ll be compromised, vulnerable, _alone, and freaking all the way across the city_ , experiencing something you don’t usually deal with.” His voice rose with each word.

“Gladio, please.”

“Ignis. Stop. You’re staying. Here. With me. Okay?”

“I…”

“Please.” He’s loath to use his Alpha voice on Ignis but he let it rumble anyway.

"All right,” Ignis breathed. “All right.”  


* * *

  


_THREE DAYS AGO_

  
Ignis managed well enough in the succeeding days. He did all he could to prepare, taking particular care in batch cooking their food and summarizing reports for Noct. He even managed to squeeze in four video conferences. In fact, if it weren’t for the strong scent of cinnamon and vanilla permeating the space, Gladio would never have thought that Ignis was going into heat.

Three days after he ran out of suppressants, Ignis asked if he could borrow one of Gladio's shirts.

“Yeah, sure. You can get one from my closet.”

“Oh. No, not the um… not the freshly laundered ones. I… need something with your…”

Ah. Right. Gladio went to his room to pick through the hamper; he selected five shirts and a hoodie, which he sincerely hoped to Titan weren’t completely foul-smelling.

“Uh, here. I hope these are okay.”

“Thank you,” Ignis gathered the clothes with an almost shy smile.

“Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

“I will.”

Gladio pretended not to notice the way Ignis nearly buried his nose into the little pile of Gladio’s clothes in his arms.  


* * *

  


_YESTERDAY_

  
Gladio was an early riser. He always had been, ever since he was a young boy. It served him well through Shield training and it served him well now because Ignis was awake and he looked like he was about to collapse.

“Iggy!” Gladio barely contained the sharp snap of his voice. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Oh…” Ignis replied absently. His eyes were glazed, his hair was unstyled, and he was wearing only the borrowed hoodie and a pair of loose shorts. It was the first time Gladio had ever seen Ignis unkempt and it was as disconcerting as it was distracting. (Astrals fucking damnit, why did he have look like… _that_?) “Hello, Gladio.”

“What are you doing?”

“I was… I was making tea.” His expression was puzzled as he looked at the kettle on top of the stove. “Although the water isn’t… getting hot.”

“You forgot to turn the stove on.”

“Ah… that’s why.” Ignis blinked. “I’m sorry.”

Gladio’s heart broke. “You don’t have to apologize, Iggy. Here, let me do that for you.”

“Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Tired. And… warm.”

Gladio nodded as he gave Ignis a cursory visual inspection. He was sweating, but that was to be expected. He was also trembling ever so slightly. Gladio pushed out his scent just a little to help calm Ignis down. It was rare that Ignis needed it; Gladio couldn’t even remember when he did it last. He hummed in approval when he saw Ignis’s shoulders lose a little of their stiffness.

Then he caught sight of Ignis’s lips, which were bitten red and raw, and it’s Gladio’s turn to tense.

“Iggy, stop thinking about me or my comfort, okay? Scream if you want or… whatever you need to do. Don't worry about me.”

“Oh, no, no, no. I'm… I'm fine.”

Gladio gestured at Ignis’s lips. “What’s that, then?”

Ignis flinched at the accusatory tone of Gladio’s voice. He folded in on himself, hugging his stomach, and bit his lip yet again to muffle a small sob. Gladio felt rotten to his core.

“Iggy, come here,” Gladio said, an order woven with the words. He didn’t like lacing his words with an Alpha command when he was talking to Ignis, but damn if Gladio would let Ignis put _him_ first when he isn't the one being taken over by biology. He held out a hand in invitation and nodded encouragingly.

A whine escaped Ignis's tightly pressed lips, but he complied nonetheless. 

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about me,” he repeated as he wrapped Ignis in a loose hug. He pushed out more of his scent, partly to soothe Ignis and partly to drown the fragrance that Ignis probably didn’t realize he was releasing. “Do what you have to do to take care of yourself. If you need anything, just ask. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Now go back to bed. I’m going to fix your tea.”  


* * *

* * *

  


_PRESENT_

  
Ignis’s heat rises that morning and Gladio realizes one fact that he’s never had to worry about before: he has never been in close proximity with an Omega in heat. The Amicitias have an Alpha bloodline; the occasional Omegas in their family have never been known to have suffered through intense heats.

When he was younger, he managed his ruts through physical exhaustion. He had ruined hundreds of training dummies and practice swords, he had run at full tilt for hours, he had spent whole afternoons at the backyard of Manor Amicitia ruining truck tires with a sledgehammer.

When he got older and discovered the pleasures of sex, he’d never had a shortage of willing partners. He’d had a few sexual encounters, though never with an Omega in heat. Most of the time he just went camping beyond The Old Wall and let his rut pass. It was all about control, his father had said. Alphas, especially Royal Shields, could not afford to be overwhelmed by mating instincts. It took him a good part of two years to master his impulses, but he’d done pretty well for himself all things considered.

That well-honed control is being put to a strenuous test right now. Gladio, for the first time since he’d presented at thirteen, is discovering just how much a full-blown heat can distort an Alpha’s focus. And by the Six, Ignis’s heat is a dangerous thing. The thick fragrance of Ignis’s pheromones has spread through their apartment like a haze, the sound of Ignis’s keening cries taking all of Gladio’s discipline to ignore.

A small part of himself is regretting his words. _Scream if you want or… whatever you need to do._ Gladio shook his head. Ignis hasn’t screamed once. He’s whined, sure. He’s whimpered, mewled, and moaned. Each sound he makes pulls and pulls at Gladio’s nature to care for and satisfy an Omega in bone-deep need of attention and affection. Maybe he should be thankful Ignis hasn’t screamed yet. He isn’t sure what that sound will make him do—tear down the closed door and give in to that impulse to _mate, breed, mate_ , most likely.

“Shiva’s fucking tits,” Gladio groans. He snaps his book closed and buries his face in his hands. “Stop thinking about that.”

His phone dings then, letting him know that it’s about time Ignis had some food, and he couldn’t help but sigh in worry. He knows that heats (and ruts, for that matter) made one quite ravenous after a bout, but Ignis has so far refused to eat more than a few bites. Still, Gladio prepares another simple meal. Third time’s the charm, he thinks, as he pushes Ignis’s bedroom door open.

“Iggy? I’m coming in, okay? You need to eat a bit more so I reheated that baked salmon fillet you—”

“Gla… Gladio?”

_Oh dear Six._

Ignis’s heat has finally peaked. Gladio walks into what feels like a fog of Ignis’s pheromones and the assault on his senses makes the Alpha in him roar. Ignis himself is laying utterly disheveled on top of the unmade bed, naked and golden in the late afternoon sun filtering through the windows. His hair is mussed, his body is drenched in sweat, his cock is straining against his stomach, and his thighs are glistening with slick.

_Gods fucking damn it!_

Gladio calls forth all of his training to turn away. He puts the tray of food on the desk opposite Ignis’s bed so he could clench his fists and fight the overwhelming urge to... dominate.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Ignis sits up, his movements slow and weary. He clutches a shirt to his chest, and it was only then that Gladio notices the rest of the borrowed clothes heaped into a small pile beside Ignis. “I wasn’t… I didn’t know you were… I’m going to… get dressed,” he says and moves to stand.

“Iggy, no!” Gladio rushes to push Ignis back onto the bed. The skin beneath his hand is feverishly hot and damp with sweat. “Just... it’s okay if you’re more comfortable that way. I don’t... I don’t mind.”

“But you don’t... don’t want me,” Ignis cries. “I should... cover up.”

Gladio reels at the hurt in Ignis’s voice. A knot forms in his chest as he realizes how his restraint actually looks and feels to Ignis in the throes of a heat. His question from a few days ago echoes hollowly in his brain: _Do you even know what to do?_

As it turns out, that question had been for himself.

So Gladio just... lets go. He closes his eyes, letting Ignis’s sweet, spicy perfume engulf him completely, and lets go of the training and carefully constructed iron will tethering his compulsions. It doesn’t take long at all before he’s clutching Ignis’s face between his hands, pressing their foreheads together.

“I want you,” he breathes. “I do. You don’t know how hard it’s been for me to resist your blood call. It’s just that... I told you to ask if you needed anything and you didn’t.”

Ignis’s eyes widen and brim with tears. “I’m sorry...” he pants and each labored breath only adds to the sweet, spicy perfume in the air.

“Ignis,” Gladio sighs, half in frustration and half in regret. Of course, Ignis would think it’s his fault that Gladio had forcefully ignored their bodies’ natural impulses. “Do you need anything? Do you _want_ anything?”

Ignis sobs. “Yes.”

“Tell me.”

Ignis holds out for a few more seconds more before giving in. “I want... I want you. I need you. Please.”

“Is this you asking?” Gladio rumbles the words against Ignis’s lips.

Gladio doesn’t fully understand why he wants to know but the desire is there, deep in his system. Ignis, through the thick haze of his heat, somehow senses it. “Yes, it’s me. Gladio, please,” he says, almost in supplication.

It’s all the permission Gladio needs. He pulls Ignis’s face to his for a deep, bruising kiss. Ignis whimpers into it and he clutches at Gladio like a lifeline.

They pull away only when their lungs protest the lack of air, and even then Gladio doesn’t lift his lips from Ignis’s skin. He licks at the tear tracks on Ignis’s cheeks, then pulls his hair to bare his slender neck. Gladio traces the column with his tongue, the flavor of cinnamon and vanilla stronger than ever, combining with Ignis’s musk. He nuzzles behind Ignis’s ears and the small puff of air makes Ignis shiver.

“Is this okay, Iggy?” He licks at the gland there, sucks it into his mouth. The temptation to bite is strong but that’s one thing that Gladio will resist for now.

Ignis moans. “Yes...” He throws his head further back, as he clutches at Gladio’s shirt. “Off. Please...”

Gladio tears his tank top off down the middle in an effort to keep his lips fused to Ignis’s neck. “You don’t have to beg, Iggy. Just tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.” Ignis mewls at the show of wild strength and Gladio preens as Ignis runs his hands all over a chiseled chest.

“More.”

Gladio obliges. He tears his mouth away from Ignis’s neck at last, moving to suck at his collar bones instead. Ignis lets out a delicious gasp as Gladio’s hand crawls down his chest and pinches a nipple, the touch rough and gentle and searing all at once.

With a final nip at Ignis’s clavicle, Gladio lays him back down on the bed. He traces a path on Ignis’s body with lips, tongue, and teeth, feeling self-satisfied when Ignis squirms at the touch of his tongue to a nipple. He sucks there for a while, twisting and caressing the other between his fingers.

Ignis paws the sheets in a white-knuckled grip. “Gods... Gladio. Touch... touch me.” He arches his body taut, closer to Gladio’s questing hands and mouth.

“I already am, baby,” Gladio rumbles, deep from his chest. Intent on satisfying Ignis’s every whim, though, he palms Ignis’s straining cock and a scream tears from Ignis’s throat. He was right, Gladio thinks. One scream and the impulse is there in full force, making him thirst. _Mate, breed, mate_ , his Alpha brain chants.

Gladio finally, finally crawls down Ignis’s body. He lets himself gaze for a few seconds at Ignis’s cock, beautiful and proud like the rest of the man, then licks up and around the hot length. He cups and squeezes Ignis’s balls in one hand, massages his right thigh with the other. Then he slips his mouth all the way down and swallows. Ignis comes apart right then, quick and encompassing. Gladio drinks it all in: Ignis’s release, the sensation fingers pulling at his hair and scratching his scalp, every little whine and gasp and moan.

The Alpha in him howls as Ignis trembles in the aftershocks of his orgasm. He moves back up, licking Ignis’s stomach as he goes, then buries his head at Ignis’s neck again. “Gladio...” Ignis keens. He’s still hard and far from sated. “Off!” He reaches for Gladio’s sweatpants, clawing at the waistband in his clamor to get Gladio naked.

“Sshh. I got you,” he whispers.

Ignis twists impatiently on top of the sheets, desperate for more. Gladio removes the rest of his clothing as quick as he could and settles on top of Ignis. He pushes down, letting Ignis feel his weight and warmth.

Ignis sighs and reaches down, his grip hot and slick. “Please. Inside me, please.”

Gladio wants to make it last. He wants to learn Ignis, savor him, worship him, but his Alpha blood is roaring in his veins to stake his claim now, now, now.

“Gladio, please,” Ignis’s eyes are misting with the uncontrollable urge of his heat. “Now,” he unconsciously echoes the voice in Gladio’s head.

Gladio allows himself one caress at Ignis’s dripping entrance, making him shiver, before lifting Ignis’s legs to rest them on his shoulders. Then he pushes in, one long and steady stroke that buries him deep. Ignis all but wails, arms wrapping around Gladio in a desperate hold.

“Fuck,” Gladio growls. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

“So good,” Ignis agrees on a long, fluttering sigh.

Gladio licks at Ignis’s scent gland again and takes a deep breath, filling his senses. “Iggy, baby, can I move?”

“Mmm...”

Gladio tries a slow pace at first, shallow and gentle like a taste of things to come. But Ignis’s body grips him tight, enveloping him fully, and his thrusts escalate into a faster tempo, each push making Ignis’s eyes roll in rapture and his fingers scrabbling at his back in a desperate plea for more. A thrill of pride courses through his veins, pride that he can drown Ignis in utter pleasure.

“Fucking hell,” Gladio grits through his teeth. He doesn’t want to come yet, not until Ignis does. His hips keep up their brutal pace. “C’mon, Iggy. Come for me, baby.”

“Gladio.” His name scrapes out of Ignis’s throat.

“That’s it, baby, come for me.”

He pulls back, marvelling at how Ignis’s ass clings to his dick, then thrusts back in, sharp and angled perfectly to slam into that bundle of nerves.

Ignis whines this time as he comes, ropes of pearly white painting his and Gladio’s chests. It takes a few seconds to drift back down from the high, but when he opens his eyes, the fire remains.

“You didn’t come… you didn’t knot me.” Ignis breathes.

“Is that what you want?” Gladio’s still buried in Ignis, still hard, still wanting.

“Yes.”

He gives an experimental push, drawing yet another moan from Ignis. “Okay then. But I want you to come for me one more time. Just one more, can you do that for me?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Gladio shifts their position then, dropping Ignis’s legs from his shoulders to his waist. The response is automatic: Ignis wraps his legs around Gladio as best he could, his hands clasping behind his neck and clutching at his hair.

“You okay?”

“Please fuck me, Gladio. Knot me… please.” Ignis’s sighs, like a prayer, clinging to Gladio as if he’s the only thing holding him together.

Gladio pulls back, almost completely out, then plunges back in with a powerful stroke. Ignis keens and Gladio repeats the move, establishing a punishing rhythm that takes their breaths and fans their desires. He does it again, and again, and again, almost mad with pleasure.

“Alpha,” Ignis calls. 

Gladio’s hips stutter. “Fuck.”

“Please.”

Gladio gives him another deep thrust. “Touch yourself,” he commands, voice a raspy snarl. 

It takes a few seconds. Ignis hears the words but his body doesn’t yet obey and he lets out an urgent cry. Gladio wraps a hand around Ignis’s and guides it down. “Touch yourself.”

Ignis pumps his hand and that’s all it takes. Just one upstroke and he’s gone. His ass clenches tight around Gladio’s cock, his own dick twitching as a few more ropes of come dribble out. Ignis chases the intensity of it, shockwaves rolling over him even as Gladio continues to thrust into him in wild, erratic strokes.

“Ignis...” Gladio rumbles. “Baby, I...”

“Knot me, Gladio,” Ignis says, eyes finally clear. “I want it. Please.”

The reverent tone nudges Gladio back into action. He picks up the pace again, hands in a bruising grip on Ignis’s hips. “You’re going to kill me, I swear,” he says, snapping his hips. Ignis just smiles up at him, then wraps Gladio tight in his arms. His heels dig into Gladio’s back, urging him deeper.

It’s almost too much, yet not enough. Ignis is too sensitive now, too overwhelmed to come a fourth time, but he hangs on as Gladio rocks into him. He gasps and hisses in pleasure, his throat a little raw for a scream, but the arousal is still there, simmering below his heat. “Alpha,” he calls again. “Please.”

“Fucking hell, Iggy, I can’t...” Gladio’s breaths punch out of his lungs and he finally gives in, pressing deep into Ignis as he marks him with his come and his fingerprints. Ignis groans with him, lost in pleasure as Gladio’s knot stretches him even more, locking them together.

“You feel amazing,” he says, when his cock finally stops pulsing inside Ignis.

“So do you.”

He maneuvers them carefully onto their sides so he doesn’t collapse onto Ignis. “Are you okay?”

“Mm hmm,” Ignis confirms. “I’m... quite all right.”

“That’s good.”

Ignis traces his fingers on his chest, light touches that make him shiver. “I’m sorry for putting you through this.”

“Gods, Iggy, you’re not putting me through anything,” Gladio says. “If anything, I’m that one who should be sorry because I let you feel... unwanted.”

“You made up for it,” Ignis says quietly.

The sun has set now, painting the sky a burnished gold and orange. The light hits Ignis’s skin just right, making him glow, and Gladio is suddenly struck by an intense yearning. He wants this, he realizes, he wants this something fierce and not just for tonight.

Ignis feels the change, in the almost vehement way Gladio hugs him closer. “Gladio? Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” he says. “We’ll... talk later, okay? For now, let’s just sleep.”

And they do, wrapped around each other like a promise.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried going for the hot, wild, intense, I-can't-control-it kind of fic, but the muses just wouldn't go that way. Still, I hope you enjoyed reading. :)
> 
> You can holler at me on
> 
> Twitter: @raidelle3573  
> Discord: raidelle#3573  
> Tumble: @raidelle


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